eLearning

Custom Elearning Experiences

Since 1988, Digitec Interactive has used technology and innovative design to create transformative learning

experiences that include elearning, gamification and simulation.

Digitec has been designing and developing interactive learning since the 1990s and is nationally recognized for custom eLearning services.

Our corporate clients include Hilton Worldwide, Cisco Systems, Symantec Corporation, Genentech, P&G, and dozens of others. Digitec is also the leader in custom eLearning course development for associations and nonprofits. Our association clients include the Copper Development Association, International Sign Association, International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, among others. Digitec serves a variety of industries, including hospitality, entertainment, finance, information technology, healthcare, and associations.

But while the awards look nice in our conference room, our true passion is to transform learning from a singular, one-time event into a continual process that changes lives.

GAMIFICATION & SIMULATION

Embedded games are sometimes called “casual” or “extrinsic” games. These games allow learners to engage with the content in a fun way, while reinforcing the learning objectives through play. Embedded gaming strategies can include drag-n-drop, sequencing, matching, trivia, etc.

Embedded games are a simple way to include game-based learning in your organization.

Collaborative Games

While many realize the power of competition in learning engagement, “coopetition” may be even more powerful. According to research from Edgar Dale, while traditional classroom delivery results in 10% learning retention, the same study shows 90% retention when learners teach others. This is where collaborative gaming fits in. Players work in collaborative teams to share knowledge, make decisions and compete against other teams.

Digitec has designed team-based, collaborative games for Cisco Systems, Hilton Worldwide, and a remote online brain bowl competition for the National Consumers League. For CEE, Digitec designed the Gen I Revolution game – a high school economics game, with missions that can be played in the classroom or online. Teams compete for top scores and earn badges as they defeat the Murktide! To date, nearly 200,000 students have played the game.

Game Based Simulations Digitec Interactive is a strong proponent of the “Learning by Doing” model, pioneered by Jean Piaget. For a game-based simulation, Digitec’s instructional designers apply game design and modeling. The simulations enable learners to apply their knowledge and skills in a simulated environment.

To create more engagement, Digitec’s unique Story Arcsimulations combine story and simulation to create engaging problem-based learning experiences, where learners can live out the experiences, as they would in the real world. Digitec has designed and developed Story Arc simulations for Disney, Yum! Brands restaurants, Hilton Worldwide, Symantec Corporation and many others. For the Florida Virtual School, Digitec designed the Virtual Frog Dissection game for middle school students.

Immersive eLearning Games

Immersive eLearning games involve “immersing” the learner into a fully simulated environment. The learning occurs through trial and error, with prescriptive learning modules assigned after the event, based on the learner’s performance. This model encourages rehearsal and practice, so a learner can master the concepts.

Digitec has created immersive eLearning for marketing, financial education, and life skills. Digitec has also designed games to teach history — by traveling in time machines to immerse a player in a past situation to live out historical events.

If you are ready to immerse your learners in a custom 3-D environment, where they have permission to “fail forward” as they try different strategies to solve problems and move to the next level, Digitec can take them there.

eLearning Design Process

Whether it’s a mobile game, simulation, performance support app, or a highly engaging eLearning course, we follow a proven process to achieve results that make a difference.

1. Evaluation:

The first step in the process is to evaluate the learning need. This involves scheduling meetings with the client and our account management, project manager and technical team to explore the current situation.

The findings from that analysis result in an agreement around a scope that defines the project parameters, assumptions, and budget.

Digitec then creates a Project Management Plan, with a detailed project schedule in Microsoft Project. The schedule shows dates, deliverables, and review dates for the client. The waterfall schedule includes any dependency milestones.

During the kick-off meeting and data gathering sessions, Digitec further defines the project objectives, as well as the demographics of the target audience, their pre-requisite knowledge, and specific technical requirements. Based on this analysis, the Digitec team recommends the appropriate instructional strategies for the project.

The analysis is integrated into a Design Strategy, which defines the instructional features, learning objectives, and a detailed content outline. For mobile apps or gamification projects, this document also includes a flowchart, as well as handset/OS requirements, proposed backstory, gameplay and gameworld mechanics details. The Design Strategy goes through two rounds of client review and revisions to arrive at a final, approved document.

During this first step, Digitec also designs the graphical user interface, iterating the concepts through two rounds of review to reach a final graphical interface design.

The final milestone in the first phase often includes a prototype. The prototype demonstrates the conventions and standards.

The prototype serves as a means for clients to see and approve the approach prior to full production. This also provides clients with the opportunity to field test the prototype, if desired and submit this feedback to Digitec for up to two rounds of revisions to the prototype.

2. Design:

During this step, Digitec uses the Design Strategy and prototype to produce storyboards, which describe in detail the narration, text, graphics, animation, video and interaction for each screen in the project. If a database is required, the database design is also documented during this step. These documents constitute the project “blueprints.” Once storyboards are approved, the media is developed and posted to a client review site for review and approval.

3. Develop:

After all of the media has been developed, the next step is to program the modules, in accordance with the blueprint documents. The modules are then tested in-house, on the target browsers, handset models and operating systems defined in the Design Strategy, to ensure the blueprints have been followed. Any discrepancies are corrected and signed off by Digitec’s Quality Assurance team before client testing begins.

During in-house testing, Digitec uses a work-flow management system that automatically tracks and distributes discrepancies and change requests to the appropriate team member for correction and quality assurance testing. After all discrepancies and change requests have been addressed in Alpha testing, the project moves to Beta testing. The client is given a link to the project, along with access to the work-flow system to report discrepancies and change requests during review.

4. Implement:

During this final step in the process, the client reviews the completed production and conducts acceptance testing in the environment in which the product will be delivered.

Digitec again provides access to the work-flow system that enables clients to log in, post discrepancies and view the status of open items. During this final step in the process, the client reviews the completed production and conducts acceptance testing in the environment in which the product will be delivered.

If the client posts a discrepancy, the system automatically routes the change to the Project Manager and the appropriate project team member for resolution. As a discrepancy is resolved, it is automatically routed back to the Project Manager and Quality Assurance for confirmation, before the item is closed and ready for client approval.

This assures discrepancies are tracked continually and closed before the content goes live. After the client completes acceptance testing and signs off, Digitec delivers the source and run-time files to the client and the project enters the warranty period.

eLearning Catalog

Do you need compliance training? Sexual harassment? OSHA? Leadership?

One of the fastest, easiest and most cost-effective ways to train your staff is to use pre-built quality eLearning. Digitec Interactive offers a catalog of over 1,000 courses that you can license for your learners. Choose from the catalog to create your own tailored course offerings. Digitec Interactive can even help you create the “learning journeys” for roles within your organization.

Digitec has a staff of over 20, including project managers, instructional designers, writers, programmers, graphic artists, and audio/video producers. The team is assigned to projects based on the project’s requirements (design, mobile, video, web programming, etc.).